Grad Plus loan problems

[cooleylawstudent]

I am on the 3 year plan which the stafford loan falls a few grand short of fully covering, I can probally come up with that much and for books/gas on my own, but for rent and utilities I needed the gradplus loan. I signed up for it and was denied due to credit issue which I understand since I fell beyond on payments awhile back and its still on my report. Here's the thing, I offered to get a cosigner for it but they told me that Gradplus loans cant use a cosigner only private loans can(which are MUCH higher fees) does anyone know of a bank that allows cosigners for gradplus loans?

Also, I heard that I can only work 20 hours if "fulltime" per week. Is that true? Has anyone else faced this problem? How'd you fix it?

[armyjag]

The 20 hour thing is for 1L only, if I remember correctly.  I know people who worked more hours, I don't think the ABA gestapo came looking at their timesheets.

[jillibean]

Wrong. 20 hours is for all law students regardless of year. The only way around this is if you are enrolled part-time and then they can't stop you from working 20 hours a day if you wanted.
But yeah, I agree with armyjag that they don't go around and ask for your timesheets, but it could be seen as an honor code violation if you do it, and if you plan on doing legal work most employers, knowing that you are in school, won't let you work more than 20 hours anyway

[big - fat - box]

Is your school a FFELP school or a Direct Loans school? If it is a FFELP school you can use any lender for the GradPlus you want. You may have to make special arrangements to get your loans disbursed and really stay on top of things to use a lender that isn't on your school's preferred list but it is totally possible.

In years past, many lenders offered the option of getting a cosigner or endorser if you couldn't qualify on your own. Some companies may have ditched that due to the financial crisis. I would just start calling lenders and ask them. Make sure you ask if they will lend a borrower attending your school before you do anything else though.

Here is a list of lenders I found online. It's probably not comprehensive but should get you started:

http://www.edfund.org/pdfs/FFEL_Program_Lenders_Schools.pdf

Make sure your cosigner or endorser understand that they will have to pay back the loan if you can't and make sure they have good credit. If they don't have good credit, you will not get a loan. Also, keep in mind this person will have to re-authorize and sign off each year for your loans. If they decide not to during 2L and 3L, you could be screwed.

In general, I would try to clear up any credit issues before going to law school. Even if you can get a grad plus loan somehow for all 3 years, you may have trouble with the character and fitness portion of your state's bar exam.

[cooleylawstudent]

I ended up getting one that accepted a cosigner(my wife even though we have the same house and household income)

You mentioned the same cosigner each year? In theory couldnt someone get a different cosigner each year if needed? WHy would it need to be the same one?(I probally will keep useing her I am just curious)

[big - fat - box]

You will need a co-signer each year. Who it is doesn't matter. What I was trying to say is that it's good to have someone you can rely on or multiple people who can cosign, in case the first person changes their mind and doesn't want to cosign for 2L and 3L.

Out of curiosity, were you able to get a GradPlus loan? Or did you have to get a private loan?

[cooleylawstudent]

Grad Plus. At first they told me I couldn't use a cosigner for it but then citibank told me that I could so I did. Private loans were a last ditch effort that I hope to never need to do.